Posts

Life Is Too Short To Drink Bad Wine

I can't recall the time I was able to add a signature to an email, don't think it was back in the very early Demon days in the mid-1990s, anyways, since for my Internet use was a baby, and still, my email signature has ended the phrase: Life is too short to drink bad wine. Is it really a Winston Churchill quote, I don't think so, hang on .. [Googles] .. definitely didn't originate with Churchill, but of course he may have said it just like I am, it has a life affirming positive message. Aha, potentially this 'misattribution' attribution would be more appropriate: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832) German poet, statesman, scientist (Misattributed) Often attributed to him, but not found in Goethe's works. The attribution, though, may come from translators' commentary on Goethe's West–Eastern Diwan, "The Book of the Cup-Bearer" (1819/1827), that refers to a poetic passage as deriving from Diez's 1811 translation of the Book of Kabus

New Inn Hotel

It's 'new' in the sense of being '1450 new' 🧐 Wandering the streets of Gloucester, up Westgate and down Eastgate, through Southgate and along Northgate, was both a journey of a tourist as well as one of a student as I slowly regained my late 1980s bearings. I love old shit, we all know that, and the outside of  The New Inn  was too good not to venture in. Wow, it was like stepping back in time and you could imagine the smells, sounds, and sights of centuries of occupation, conviviality, sales, and living. It is the most complete surviving example of a medieval courtyard inn with galleries in Britain, and is a Grade I listed building. The announcement of Lady Jane Grey's succession to the English throne was made from the Inn gallery in 1553. What a stumble upon tourist find, I was a happy chappy. Nowadays the Inn is a restaurant, pub , and 36 bedroomed hotel , together with a coffee shop and two function rooms. Of course, it is supposedly haunted, be a disappoi

The End Of The UK And Some Old Rugby

As I come to the end of my 2023/4 Wales trip I have a few new photo albums to add. I've also discovered some very old All Blacks training sessions at the Basin Reserve putting them into public albums. Gloucester (England, UK) Gloucester Cathedral Hereford (England, UK) Hereford Cathedral Mappa Mundi Monmouth 24 v 19 Pontypool (Jan 2024) All Blacks training (2005) All Blacks training on Basin Reserve (2001)

Hogwarts Corridors

Whilst Gloucester Cathedral is not Hogwarts from the outside in three of the movies, it was various corridors of Hogwarts with it's insides. It's also where I received my degree, all gowned up. Man alive that was a long time ago, but still some fundamentals of my computer learning hold firm.

The Elsie Drake Letters (Aged 104)

Two of my favourite books ever are  The Timewaster Letters by Robert Popper . Imagine my surprise and absolute delight dear reader when I heard there's a similar new book, The Elsie Drake Letters (aged 104) , from the amazing Mr Popper. Buy all three, sit back and lose yourself into a glorious eccentric Britain that never existed but absolutely does in all our minds. Definitely the funniest things you'll read this decade.

We Know Nothing

What a glorious sign on the side of an old Gloucester building 'telling' us that, "some people do say ... but we couldn't possibly comment". This building was probably erected ca1520 at a time when Hare Lane was the main road from Gloucester to the north, and before Worcester Street was built. The original use is now uncertain.  Although popularly known as the Raven Tavern, it has been established that the Raven Tavern was in fact located in Southgate Street. The present site had for long been associated with the Hoare family who emigrated to America in the 17th century, but there is no evidence to support this. Restored by public subscription in 1949, the building was opened as an Old People's Centre in 1964. I didn't know which collage to use so you can have the rest as well 😁             

I Am Way Too Pleased With Myself 😁

Sometimes it's just fun to be silly, Spying on the bird next door having sex .

Christmas Eve In Monmouth

I've long said to my mates that Christmas Eve is the big pub celebration in Monmouth. Everyone goes out and has a bloody big and raucous time of it. Seeing I was staying at one of the big pubs in town for a few days I felt it would be rude of me to ignore such tradition.

Refuge From Christmas

My brother and family popped over to Monmouth for a few days either side of Christmas Day 2023 and, with Mum's house being tiny, I was forced, sadly, to stay in town at a local hotel/inn/pub. I struggled through it, but as you can imagine, the incessant jollity, good food, and beer was tough to ignore. I survived, just.

Alice

Do I have this correct? The "Living Next Door to Alice" was originally released in 1972 but it's the Smokie 1976 version we all know. However, the one we actually know and sing along to is a later version, "Alice, who the fuck is Alice!?", which I always thought was Roy "Chubby" Brown: Ooooooooh ... Smokie collaborated on a novelty re-recording in 1995 with comedian Roy Chubby Brown, with the song interspersed with Roy Chubby Brown saying "Who the fuck is Alice?".  So it's both Smokie AND Roy "Chubby" Brown, got it.

Welcome To The United Kingdom

I don't know of any airports that have a great setup for people walking out of the customs and stepping onto home/foreign land. They all have nothing special exits with some sort of barrier to hold back the excited people wiggling from foot to foot as they wait for their loved ones, or the consignment of hidden diamonds. Once everyone has hugged it's get out of the place as soon as possible. This is not departure with all manner of retail therapy on offer. This is hug and go.

A Pointless Delight

Wrapped around the railings separating Waitrose from the Doctors Surgery is a snake. It may be a part of the railings because a snake is a medical symbol, but I hope not and just want it to be a flourish for no more reason than it's fun and they had a bit of metal left over 

Men, Sit Down For A Piss

Men have two types of toilet they can use, inside and outside, no no I joke, it's stand-up and sit-down.  Stand-up toilets ("urinal", what a crap word) are most often prevalent in pubs and bars. Long, metallic, and somewhere to point ya cock and have a piss. Before using this type every man has to pass the Official Men's Room Etiquette Aptitude Exam . I have no problem with these sorts of toilets, apart from they are generally icky and you can end up with wet shoes. The second type of toilet is the sit-down toilet. This is the one you're most used to as you will, unless you're Adrian Chiles , have this at home. Most offices are these types, and more and more the sit-down can been seen in newer and better pubs. The sit-down has two massive advantages over the stand-up. You can have a poo using one (a "shit-down" if you will ;), and anyone can use them not just humans with wee tubes. Here's the rub, for some reason men don't seem to get that t